scholarly journals Basal ganglia and cerebellum contributions to vocal emotion processing as revealed by high-resolution fMRI

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Ceravolo ◽  
Sascha Frühholz ◽  
Jordan Pierce ◽  
Didier Grandjean ◽  
Julie Péron

AbstractUntil recently, brain networks underlying emotional voice prosody decoding and processing were focused on modulations in primary and secondary auditory, ventral frontal and prefrontal cortices, and the amygdala. Growing interest for a specific role of the basal ganglia and cerebellum was recently brought into the spotlight. In the present study, we aimed at characterizing the role of such subcortical brain regions in vocal emotion processing, at the level of both brain activation and functional and effective connectivity, using high resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging. Variance explained by low-level acoustic parameters (fundamental frequency, voice energy) was also modelled. Wholebrain data revealed expected contributions of the temporal and frontal cortices, basal ganglia and cerebellum to vocal emotion processing, while functional connectivity analyses highlighted correlations between basal ganglia and cerebellum, especially for angry voices. Seed-to-seed and seed-to-voxel effective connectivity revealed direct connections within the basal ganglia—especially between the putamen and external globus pallidus—and between the subthalamic nucleus and the cerebellum. Our results speak in favour of crucial contributions of the basal ganglia, especially the putamen, external globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus, and several cerebellar lobules and nuclei for an efficient decoding of and response to vocal emotions.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Ceravolo ◽  
Sascha Frühholz ◽  
Jordan Pierce ◽  
Didier Grandjean ◽  
Julie Péron

AbstractUntil recently, brain networks underlying emotional voice prosody decoding and processing were focused on modulations in primary and secondary auditory, ventral frontal and prefrontal cortices, and the amygdala. Growing interest for a specific role of the basal ganglia and cerebellum was recently brought into the spotlight. In the present study, we aimed at characterizing the role of such subcortical brain regions in vocal emotion processing, at the level of both brain activation and functional and effective connectivity, using high resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging. Variance explained by low-level acoustic parameters (fundamental frequency, voice energy) was also modelled. Wholebrain data revealed expected contributions of the temporal and frontal cortices, basal ganglia and cerebellum to vocal emotion processing, while functional connectivity analyses highlighted correlations between basal ganglia and cerebellum, especially for angry voices. Seed-to-seed and seed-to-voxel effective connectivity revealed direct connections within the basal ganglia ̶ especially between the putamen and external globus pallidus ̶ and between the subthalamic nucleus and the cerebellum. Our results speak in favour of crucial contributions of the basal ganglia, especially the putamen, external globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus, and several cerebellar lobules and nuclei for an efficient decoding of and response to vocal emotions.


2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2491-2525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garipelli Gangadhar ◽  
Denny Joseph ◽  
V. Srinivasa Chakravarthy

Handwriting in Parkinson's disease (PD) is typically characterized by micrographia, jagged line contour, and unusual fluctuations in pen tip velocity. Although PD handwriting features have been used for diagnostics, they are not based on a signaling model of basal ganglia (BG). In this letter, we present a computational model of handwriting generation that highlights the role of BG. When PD conditions like reduced dopamine and altered dynamics of the subthalamic nucleus and globus pallidus externa subsystems are simulated, the handwriting produced by the model manifested characteristic PD handwriting distortions like micrographia and velocity fluctuations. Our approach to PD modeling is in tune with the perspective that PD is a dynamic disease.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed-Mojtaba Alavi ◽  
Amin Mirzaei ◽  
Alireza Valizadeh ◽  
Reza Ebrahimpour

Abstract Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with abnormal b band oscillations (13-30 Hz) in the cortico-basal ganglia circuits.Abnormally increased striato-pallidal inhibition and strengthening the synaptic coupling between subthalamic nucleus (STN)and globus pallidus externa (GPe), due to the loss of dopamine, are accounted as the potential sources of b oscillations in thebasal ganglia. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the basal ganglia subregions is known as a way to reduce the pathological boscillations and motor deficits related to PD. Despite the success of the DBS, its underlying mechanism is poorly understoodand, there is controversy about the inhibitory or excitatory role of the DBS in the literature. Here, we utilized a computationalnetwork model of basal ganglia which consists STN, GPe, globus pallidus interna (GPi), and thalamus neuronal population.This model can capture healthy and pathological b oscillations as what has been observed in experimental studies. Using thismodel, we investigated the effect of DBS to understand whether its effect is excitatory or inhibitory. Our results show that theexcitatory DBS (EDBS) is able to quench the pathological synchrony and b oscillations, while, applying inhibitory DBS (IDBS)failed to quench the PD signs. In addition, the EDBS ameliorated the thalamic activity related to tremor in the model, while,the IDBS outperformed. However, with the help of the model results, we conclude that the effect of the DBS on its target isexcitatory


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Zixiao Li ◽  
Xingxing Cao ◽  
Lijun Zuo ◽  
Wei Wen ◽  
...  

We investigated the association between poststroke cognitive impairment and a specific effective network connectivity in the prefrontal–basal ganglia circuit. The resting-state effective connectivity of this circuit was modeled by employing spectral dynamic causal modeling in 11 poststroke patients with cognitive impairment (PSCI), 8 poststroke patients without cognitive impairment (non-PSCI) at baseline and 3-month follow-up, and 28 healthy controls. Our results showed that different neuronal models of effective connectivity in the prefrontal–basal ganglia circuit were observed among healthy controls, non-PSCI, and PSCI patients. Additional connected paths (extra paths) appeared in the neuronal models of stroke patients compared with healthy controls. Moreover, changes were detected in the extra paths of non-PSCI between baseline and 3-month follow-up poststroke, indicating reorganization in the ipsilesional hemisphere and suggesting potential compensatory changes in the contralesional hemisphere. Furthermore, the connectivity strengths of the extra paths from the contralesional ventral anterior nucleus of thalamus to caudate correlated significantly with cognitive scores in non-PSCI and PSCI patients. These suggest that the neuronal model of effective connectivity of the prefrontal–basal ganglia circuit may be sensitive to stroke-induced cognitive decline, and it could be a biomarker for poststroke cognitive impairment 3 months poststroke. Importantly, contralesional brain regions may play an important role in functional compensation of cognitive decline.


Author(s):  
Charles J. Wilson

The subthalamo-pallidal system constitutes the second layer of circuitry in the basal ganglia, downstream of the striatum. It consists of four nuclei. Two of them, the external segment of the globus pallidus (GPe) and subthalamic nucleus (STN), make their connections primarily within the basal ganglia. The others, the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) and the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr), are the output nuclei of the basal ganglia. Collectively, their axons distribute collaterals to all the targets of the basal ganglia. Rare interneurons have been reported in each of them from studies of Golgi-stained preparations, but they have not so far been confirmed using more modern methods. The circuit as described here is based primarily on studies of the axonal arborizations of neurons stained individually by intracellular or juxtacellular labeling.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tora Bonnevie ◽  
Kareem A. Zaghloul

How do we decide what we do? This is the essence of action control, the process of selecting the most appropriate response among multiple possible choices. Suboptimal action control can involve a failure to initiate or adapt actions, or conversely it can involve making actions impulsively. There has been an increasing focus on the specific role of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in action control. This has been fueled by the clinical relevance of this basal ganglia nucleus as a target for deep brain stimulation (DBS), primarily in Parkinson’s disease but also in obsessive-compulsive disorder. The context of DBS has opened windows to study STN function in ways that link neuroscientific and clinical fields closely together, contributing to an exceptionally high level of two-way translation. In this review, we first outline the role of the STN in both motor and nonmotor action control, and then discuss how these functions might be implemented by neuronal activity in the STN. Gaining a better understanding of these topics will not only provide important insights into the neurophysiology of action control but also the pathophysiological mechanisms relevant for several brain disorders and their therapies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Hensel ◽  
Caroline Tscherpel ◽  
Jana Freytag ◽  
Stella Ritter ◽  
Anne K Rehme ◽  
...  

Abstract Hemiparesis after stroke is associated with increased neural activity not only in the lesioned but also in the contralesional hemisphere. While most studies have focused on the role of contralesional primary motor cortex (M1) activity for motor performance, data on other areas within the unaffected hemisphere are scarce, especially early after stroke. We here combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to elucidate the contribution of contralesional M1, dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC), and anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) for the stroke-affected hand within the first 10 days after stroke. We used “online” TMS to interfere with neural activity at subject-specific fMRI coordinates while recording 3D movement kinematics. Interfering with aIPS activity improved tapping performance in patients, but not healthy controls, suggesting a maladaptive role of this region early poststroke. Analyzing effective connectivity parameters using a Lasso prediction model revealed that behavioral TMS effects were predicted by the coupling of the stimulated aIPS with dPMC and ipsilesional M1. In conclusion, we found a strong link between patterns of frontoparietal connectivity and TMS effects, indicating a detrimental influence of the contralesional aIPS on motor performance early after stroke.


2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 1731-1737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beata R. Godlewska ◽  
Charles Masaki ◽  
Ann L. Sharpley ◽  
Philip J. Cowen ◽  
Uzay E. Emir

BackgroundThe possible role of glutamate in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression is of intense current interest. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) enables the detection of glutamate in the living human brain and meta-analyses of previous MRS studies in depressed patients have suggested that glutamate levels are decreased in anterior brain regions. Nevertheless, at conventional magnetic field strengths [1.5–3 Tesla (T)], it is difficult to separate glutamate from its metabolite and precursor, glutamine, with the two often being measured together as Glx. In contrast, MRS at 7 T allows clear spectral resolution of glutamate and glutamine.MethodWe studied 55 un-medicated depressed patients and 50 healthy controls who underwent MRS scanning at 7 T with voxels placed in anterior cingulate cortex, occipital cortex and putamen (PUT). Neurometabolites were calculated using the unsuppressed water signal as a reference.ResultsCompared with controls, depressed patients showed no significant difference in glutamate in any of the three voxels studied; however, glutamine concentrations in the patients were elevated by about 12% in the PUT (p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe increase in glutamine in PUT is of interest in view of the postulated role of the basal ganglia in the neuropsychology of depression and is consistent with elevated activity in the descending cortical glutamatergic innervation to the PUT. The basal ganglia have rarely been the subject of MRS investigations in depressed patients and further MRS studies of these structures in depression are warranted.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Dong ◽  
Sarah Hawes ◽  
Junbing Wu ◽  
Weidong Le ◽  
Huaibin Cai

The globus pallidus externa (GPe) functions as a central hub in the basal ganglia for processing motor and non-motor information through the creation of complex connections with the other basal ganglia nuclei and brain regions. Recently, with the adoption of sophisticated genetic tools, substantial advances have been made in understanding the distinct molecular, anatomical, electrophysiological, and functional properties of GPe neurons and non-neuronal cells. Impairments in dopamine transmission in the basal ganglia contribute to Parkinson's disease (PD), the most common movement disorder that severely affects the patients' life quality. Altered GPe neuron activity and synaptic connections have also been found in both PD patients and pre-clinical models. In this review, we will summarize the main findings on the composition, connectivity and functionality of different GPe cell populations and the potential GPe-related mechanisms of PD symptoms to better understand the cell type and circuit-specific roles of GPe in both normal and PD conditions.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document